About trust

Anita Onarecker 

Guest Column

I think of you as I sit and write. I imagine us enjoying coffee, sharing our experiences and life stories.

Continuing the theme of how God loves us, I wanted to share about trust.

Once I processed and appropriated God’s love for me, I began seeing how valuable it is for daily life. After much thought, I concluded that trust is a byproduct of love in relationships — with God, as well as people. Allow me to explain.

When a child is conceived, it doesn’t take long for doctors to detect a heartbeat. Sonograms provide almost instant confirmation of conception and enable parents to follow the growth and progress in utero.

Our culture celebrates with a variety of pregnancy announcements, gender reveals and apps that provide daily or weekly pictures. Expecting a new baby is a whole industry now, and naturally, new parents provide everything possible for the one’s arrival — not unlike God.

King David said, “For Thou didst form my inward parts: Thou didst cover me in my mother’s womb… When I was made in secret… Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance…” — Psalm 139:13-16 New parents expect to meet this baby, to care for the new baby, and they already love the new baby. Often the child has a name prior to birth, so when the child is born, they can say, “Oh Sally, I have loved you for many months already. Welcome to the family!”

The parents love the child first, just as God loves us first.

Loving parents consider a child’s needs and prepare in advance to meet those needs. Their actions communicate love, and after many weeks, a new baby begins to respond to their smiles, loving embraces and the snuggles that communicate security.

Think again of Sally — Sally learned her parents came when she cried, cuddled when she felt fear or trepidations and were always close by. She began to trust her parents. She even jumped into the deep waters of the swimming pool because she trusted them to catch her.

Trust is a byproduct of knowing you are loved.

Abuse, disregard and being ignored foster mistrust. Painful encounters and insecurity foster mistrust.

Our Heavenly Father is a trustworthy God. He loves us and we can trust Him.

If you have a trust problem, maybe it’s really a love issue. Until next week, Anita

Onarecker, a writer, author and minister to women and adults, earned a Master of Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2007.